Stylet-Oil’s performance is directly related to the quality of spray coverage, so follow these tips to assure maximum protection for your crops.

• Calibrate your sprayer regularly. Calibration is one of the most important steps you can take to optimize your pest and virus management program. Spray too little and pest control suffers; spray too much and your checkbook suffers.

• Replace worn nozzles. Worn-out nozzles have a tendency to spray unevenly with distorted spray patterns. What this means is that your crops are not getting uniform spray coverage which can leave open doors for pests and viruses to take hold.

• Clean or replace nozzle screens as needed. Dirty nozzle screens or filters can clog your sprayer and limit the amount of Stylet-Oil being sprayed as well as the evenness with which it’s being applied. Take a few minutes to check your screens and filters regularly to assure you’re getting the best possible results.

• When replacing nozzles, replace them all at the same time.

• Check your pressure regulators. Before the season starts, check to make sure your pressure regulators are working properly and adjust them accordingly. If needed, replace them. It’s only a few dollars but the difference in the quality of spray coverage is worth it.

• On vegetables: Use air blast or air assist sprayers with caution. Air blast sprayers are good for spraying long distances but this can pose a few problems. Depending on how fine the droplet sizes are, they could evaporate before making contact with crops. If the droplet sizes are too big, your Stylet-Oil application will roll off before maximum protection can be achieved. Another danger with using air blast sprayers is that they can be stressful to crop plants. Air blast sprayers work by shooting the spray at a high velocity and this can damage tender fruit, vegetables or leaves. If using an air blast sprayer, you may need to tweak the spray nozzles and adjust or replace the air delivery system to push a greater volume of air but at a lower velocity. Spray “…less, more often” rather than “…more, less often”. Foliage missed by the first spray application will likely be covered on the second application and benefit from not having gone a long period exposed to pests and viruses.

• Don’t apply Stylet-Oil to wet plants. This includes early-morning dew and fog drizzle. Spraying onto a wet plant causes Stylet-Oil to bead with water droplets on the leaf and roll off, thus limiting effective coverage. Wait until the outer canopy is dry.

• When it’s windy, park the tractor. Spraying during windy conditions in excess of 10 miles per hour greatly reduces spray coverage and can be quite an expensive mistake. Not only will your crops receive uneven coverage (if any coverage at all), but all of the money you spent will “blow away in the wind.”

• Do not spray chemicals in temperatures in excess of the manufacturer’s label recommendation. Extreme temperature can affect plant physiology and can allow the leaves to absorb the spray chemicals thus harming the plant.

• Do not spray heat or moisture stressed crops. Applying even water to stressed crops can cause phytotoxicity.

• When spraying row crops, make sure your path is smooth. Running over something as simple as a small rock can cause the spray boom to sway creating uneven distribution of spray material.

• Use a practical spray boom length. Reducing your spray booms from 60 feet to 30 feet can greatly increase your chances of even coverage. It may take a bit longer to spray your crops, but it’s worth it in the end.

• Excessive dust can affect oil performance. Dust accumulations on plant surfaces can absorb Stylet-Oil and compromise its effectiveness. Minimizing vehicular traffic on your dirt roads and paths, using overhead irrigation in moderation or applying dust retardant chemicals such as lignum sulfonate can all help keep your crops dust-fr